Hybridization and nonprofit organizations: The governance challenge

Increasingly, public service delivery is characterized by hybrid organizational structures with mixed public, nonprofit, and for-profit characteristics. This study examines the governance and policy implications of hybrid organizations in public services with a specific focus on nonprofit organizations. These arrangements can range from very informal relationships among staff in different organizations to formal, binding contractual agreements among different organizations and nonprofit organizations with for-profit subsidiaries. Increasing hybridization among nonprofit organizations represents the restructuring of the state and the adaptive response to these organizations to an increasingly turbulent environment. Hybridization can present complex governance challenges for nonprofits; however, hybrid structures can be an asset for nonprofits in the competition for public and private resources and can promote broader community and political support.